The mid-credits scene of 2021’s Eternals introduced us to a particularly peculiar personality in the MCU; after taking off in their Domo spacecraft to warn other Eternals of the truth behind their purpose, Makkari, Thena, and Druig are encountered by the character Starfox, played by Harry Styles, who offers his assistance in their endeavors.
He may not be recognizable to many, so it’s hard to say whether fans will understand the work that Harry Styles, and, indeed, the rest of the Marvel Studios team has cut out for them with this portrayal.
As one fan pointed out on r/marvelstudios, Starfox is one of the more controversial characters in the comics, and they pointed out that he could draw unfavorable comparisons to Kilgrave, a major antagonist in the MCU series Jessica Jones.
For those of you that aren’t aware, Starfox’s main power in the comics is his ability to control one’s emotions with his psychic powers. This led to some situations that, to put it simply, would be met with outrage in the era of #MeToo, and rightfully so. As for the Kilgrave comparisons, the Jessica Jones villain possessed a similar set of mind control abilities and used them for heinous and disturbing acts.
The MCU is no stranger to delving into more serious topics, but it’s hard to imagine even them handling this conversation in a way that’s palatable to both the subject and the overarching brand, for lack of a better word, of the MCU. Fans were quick to weigh in with their concerns as well, with many of them assuming that the adaptation is going to steer clear of that particular part of the comics’ history.
Some users even offered writing fixes that would allow Starfox to keep his power set.
We’ll just have to see how Starfox’s character ultimately fits into the MCU; his fraction of screentime in Eternals is all we have so far, and it’s hard to say when or in what context we’ll be seeing him next.
